An all-out war between the Seoul Metropolitan Government and MBC: A battle for truth and a clash of media views surrounding the report on ‘missing rebar’ > News

What sparked the conflict was the suspicion of missing rebar at the GTX-A Samseong Station construction site, which MBC exclusively reported in mid-May. According to reports, many of the platform pillars on the 5th floor underground at Samsung Station were constructed with only half of the reinforcing bars inserted, contrary to the design drawings, and suspicions were raised that it took a considerable amount of time for the Seoul Metropolitan Government to recognize this and report it to the Ministry of Land, Infrastructure and Transport. The Seoul Metropolitan Government immediately launched a rebuttal, and strongly protested when suspicions were raised of intentional concealment by the Seoul Metropolitan Government, the ordering agency, in the process of clarifying the responsibility of the construction company and the inspector. In particular, the Seoul Metropolitan Government expressed strong regret, claiming that the report was broadcast more than 70 times with provocative titles and suspicions ahead of local elections, amplifying citizens' anxiety and damaging trust in city administration.

The Seoul Metropolitan Government's response was very unusual and strong. The city excluded MBC from the daily press clippings for internal administrative review and explicitly labeled it as a ‘biased and distorted media.’ This went beyond a simple administrative measure of excluding internal data, and was interpreted as an open exclusion of a specific media company, sparking strong opposition from the media and political circles. The MBC union strongly criticized this as a petty retaliation and oppression of the media using administrative power, and claimed that they were targeting only MBC for a chilling effect even though other media outlets reported at a similar level. The Seoul Metropolitan Government's press corps also raised concerns, warning that these measures could put pressure on reporting activities in general.

This incident has gone beyond reporting on a simple safety issue and has expanded into the frame of a political triangle. Seoul Mayor Oh Se-hoon raised suspicions that the report was amplified by political connections between the Ministry of Land, Infrastructure and Transport, the Democratic Party of Korea, and the election camp at the time. The key point is the so-called 'election manipulation' claim that the Ministry of Land, Infrastructure and Transport intentionally leaked issues that were judged to have no safety issues during the election period, and MBC intensively reported on them to create an environment favorable to the Democratic Party candidate. In response, the opposition party responded by saying that it was an act of 'silencing' at the government level, and that criticizing reports critical of citizens' safety as partisan collusion was an incompetent response aimed at covering up administrative failures. The differences of opinion between the two sides run parallel lines, showing the tendency to degenerate into a battle over political responsibility rather than an investigation of the truth.

This situation, which was heading towards a legal battle, ended up awaiting the judiciary's decision. Seoul City filed a lawsuit against MBC's head of reporting and the reporter in charge for correction of reporting and compensation for damages, expressing its determination to hold them legally responsible until the end. The city of Seoul puts forward as the core logic of the lawsuit that, even though the responsibilities of the constructor and inspector are clear in the bid notice and contract structure, the city distorted it as if all responsibility rested on the city of Seoul and the individual mayor. In addition, we are focusing on correcting the facts, as reports about on-site conditions such as cracks are also different from the safety inspection results. On the other hand, MBC is sticking to its position of continuing the media's original surveillance function without giving in to any stigmatization by those in power, so the conflict between the two sides is expected to be prolonged.